When Tobias Grammel left the United States on Tuesday, July 1 morning, he left behind a new life.

As a participant in the AFS Intercultural Programs/USA program, 17-year-old Tobias lived with a host family in Wisconsin since August. He attended a local high school as a junior, participated in the football and wrestling teams and made new friends, including a girlfriend.

“I wish I could stay longer, but I did get a little bit homesick when my parents came to visit,” Tobias said. “Maybe I’ll come back to visit in the fall.”

Nearly 750 students ages 15 to 18 gathered at Elmhurst College from morning to noon, waiting to be transported to one of the airports in Chicago. The students, who were placed in nearby states, were heading back to locations such as Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa, said Rick Landrum, national sending director.

“Kids are ... rolling in from all the Great Lake states. They started rolling in at about 2:30 a.m.,” Landrum said. “This gives people the chance to say goodbye. It’s a pretty big deal.”

About 40 local volunteers provided the students with a rest area, a check-in station, food and water as they waited for their respective buses to take them to the airport.
The program started after World War II, when young people drove ambulances for allies. After the war ended, the volunteers decided that high school aged youths should experience other countries when they were beginning to form their own opinions and ideas.

“We have, in total, both hosting and sending in 54 countries,” Landrum said.

For Tobias, who said he couldn’t begin to count the number of differences between Wisconsin and Germany, he will miss spending time with new friends and doing things such as going to Minnesota Twins baseball games and generally just getting new experiences in the United States. Having the opportunity to experience new things enticed Tobias into participating in the program, he said.